Marc Jacobs' designs on Waterford

Fashion designer Marc Jacobs has been busy creating new brand extensions of his already successful core business.

With his own label, Marc Jacobs and its diffusion line, Marc by Marc Jacobs, the designer has turned his talents to a children's line, Little Marc, costumes for the Amoveo ballet at Paris' Opera Garnier and, most recently, to tableware.

Waterford Crystal has harnessed his creative force to fashion a new range of glass and table ware. Jacobs is the latest designer to sign to Waterford, with John Rocha and Jasper Conran already producing successful glassware for the company.

The tableware range is inspired by Jacob's move to an apartment in Paris, where he frequently entertained at home using finds from antique stores, flea markets and galleries to create the mise en scenes.

Some of the results of his entertaining are evident in this collection for Waterford but its aesthetic remains true to the designer's clean and quirky core values.

The diamond-cut Robert range is double cut by hand using clear and grey crystal cutting techniques and is very true to the Waterford's core brand values in terms of design. It also reflects a return to opulence that has been evident in other interior trends.

The Jean decanter, €295, is very much in keeping with Jacobs' voluminous silhouette for both 2007 seasons, while his Belle-Epoque-style Elisabeth champagne saucers, which feature a hydrangea etched onto the glass, will be coveted by fashionistas. Its carries a price tag of €80 for one, which will ensure it remains somewhat exclusive.

The collection also includes fine bone china tableware, a first for Waterford in terms of designer collaborations. There are two lines: a classic gold and platinum design that forms part of the Jean collection and a second, more feminine hydrangea pattern that is included in the Elizabeth range. The collection is available from Brown Thomas, Dublin.

This new departure for Jacobs is an interesting brand extension choice for a designer who recently checked himself into rehab. One can expect he'll get more use from the collection's fine bone china cups than its champagne saucers. For the rest of us mere mortals it's on your marcs, get set, buy.